New Blood Entry — HSBC - Adapt the World
Award: Yellow Pencil
HSBC / 2024
With "World's Local Bank." as the slogan, HSBC was the banking hub, and businesses came to them for market insights and expertise to expand into the new market. But as time went on, many fin-tech companies and other banks started to offer or sometimes even better finance products than HSBC, which had impacted the global image HSBC Had built for years. So, with the record high business and leisure travelers in the market, we've decided to utilize one symbolic object they rely on everywhere they go - the charging adapter. By aligning the HSBC logo with simple graphic icons of different adapters worldwide, we can communicate how international banking should be as easy as plugging them.
What did the judges have to say?
Taken from recording - The power of simplicity really shines through in this entry. It distills a global bank with 40 million customers to one simple travel adapter, and the way the submission was built around HSBC's business strategy and 'international banking made easy' is profound. We've all talked about our own experiences with adapters, so to brand and own that moment is quite special. The expansiveness into the design and the posters is really deep and profound too. Big fan of this idea!
Hamish Goulding, Group Head of Brand Strategy, HSBC HOLDINGS PLC HGHQ
If I could define the Yellow Pencils with one word it would be brave. We saw work that challenged the brand, the brief and went above and beyond by showing the campaign could expand to many local markets.
Pedro Americo, Executive Creative Director, McCann Germany
Both entries pushed their ideas to the absolute limit, powered by authentic cultural insight and a surprise factor that caught the client and judges off guard in a positive way
Rob Scotland, Head of Brand Marketing, Veo Technologies
Yellow Pencil-winning work attract Juries attention like no others, the idea is brave and challenge the brief. It's not afraid to go beyond the brief.
Nopparath eksuwancharoen, Executive Creative Director & Head of Art, Sour Bangkok
Adapt the world: This piece grabbed my attention immediately. It's clear, clever and so well executed. A really clear example that sometimes the simplest ideas are the best. This is one of those. Cash Flow Mixtape: It showed a real depth of understanding of a niche audience and coupled that with an idea that taps into culture and community for real impact. Ultimately, it's campaign I would never expect from HSBC - surprising in the best way possible.
Melissa Baillache, Executive Creative Director, Koto